By now, moisture-wicking apparel is just something everyone thinks they need when they work out. At the time the technology was released, the performance over a plain cotton t-shirt was improved. Now, a study published in January’s International Journal of Sports Medicine, shows that cooling, not wicking, is key to improving athlete performance.

The harder you compete, the more you heat up, and as those of us who play know, if you get too hot, your body slows down and needs a rest. So the test, performed at the University of Colorado Boulder, measured core body temperature, and pitted a moisture wicking t-shirt against another utilizing a proprietary technology by Cocona called 37.5 ® technology as well as a jacket circulating ice water to find out how athletes would hold up under strenuous exercise while wearing each.

Not surprisingly, when the athletes wore the ice water jacket they were able to keep their body temperature lower for longer than when they wore a moisture-wicking t-shirt. But more, when the athletes wore the 37.5 technology shirt hey kept pace with the ice jacket, too. Both the ice jacket and 37.5 shirt allowed athletes to go 26% longer than in the wicking shirt at their lactate threshold. For athletes, trainers and coaches looking to increase their performance, the answer doesn’t have to be something from out of left field, it can almost be as easy as changing your shirt!

If you’re interested in learning more about how 37.5 technology in gear can increase your performance, you can find it in Mission apparel for training, Inaria for soccer, and Bauer for hockey, among others.